Sun Apr 17, 2005 4:41 am
SUNS VS. NUGGETS
Pepsi Center, Denver, 7:30 p.m., PST
TV, radio: TNT; KTAR 620
SEASON RECORD: Nuggets, 44-38; Suns, 64-18.
SEASON SERIES: 4-0 Suns
PLAYOFF SERIES: 2-0 Nuggets lead
KEY PLAYERS ON SUNS (Stats from Playoff Series)
Joe Johnson- 7.5ppg
Amare Stoudemire- 14.5ppg, 12.5rpg
Jim Jackson- 11ppg, 3rpg, 3.5apg
KEY PLAYERS ON NUGGETS[ (Stats from Playoff Series)
[b]Carmelo Anthony- 33.5ppg, 8.5rpg, 4apg
Andre Miller- 20ppg, 9apg
Marcus Camby- 16.5ppg, 15rpg, 2bpg
DENVER (Ticker) -- NO FEAR, Carmelo Anthony is here! The Nuggets have basically dominated the series in every aspect of the game. Limiting turnovers, good defense and C-A-R-M-E-L-O. He has truly shown what he can do in the playoffs after the performances he put on in Games 1 and 2 of the first round. "Melo' has stepped up to become the leader of this team and you can say that he is the main reason why were up 2-0," Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin said. Another eason why Denver is up 2-0 is because their front-line has produced a total of 141 points, 68 rebounds, 10 blocks and 12 assists in the first two games. When your starting frontline put numbers up like that, you are bound to win games. They have stepped up big time in the 4th quarter, led by no other than Carmelo Anthony. He is averaging 16.5 points in the 4th quarter alone.
The Suns are expected to insert Joe Johnson back into the starting lineup for tonight's game. "I think it's time to give him 30 or so minutes tonight," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He played well in the last game and he is completely healthy." This will be the first time the Suns will have their original starting lineup from the beginning of the season since mid-February when Johnson hurt his wrist against the Portland Trailblazers. Amare Stoudemire has been ice cold in the playoffs after having a dominating year. He is definitely grabbing the boards, averaging 12.5rpg, but his scoring has went down -8 from his season total. He shot 8-23 in Game 1 and fouled out in Game 2. "I've let my team down in the first two games and it will be up to me to try and get us out of this hole," Stoudemire said. "I've been forcing alot of shots and alot of players don't like to admit this, but I was nervous for some reason." Stoudemire has mostly been guarded by Camby and Nene throughout the series and he has studied tape on them in yesterday's practice. He rarely played against Camby this season, just in two games since Camby was injured the last two games.
PROBABLE STARTERS
C-Amare Stoudemire
PF-Shawn Marion
SF-Quentin Richardson
SG-Joe Johnson
PG-Steve Nash
C-Marcus Camby
PF-Kenyon Martin
SF-Carmelo Anthony
SG-Voshon Lenard
PG-Andre Miller
Sun Apr 17, 2005 4:42 am
Good luck in Denver, you can't afford to go down 3-0 in the series.
Sun Apr 17, 2005 4:46 am
What defense are you doing?
ive been switching throughout. in game 1 i was playing some 2-3 and man-to-man. then in game 2, i was using a 1-3-1 trapping zone, 1-2-1-1 full court press and 3-2 zone. when i played the 1-3-1, carmelo always found himself shooting from the top of the key and making shots, thats how he made that shot in the last game. the 1-2-1-1 press worked pretty well, so i might go with a 3-2 zone, 1-2-1-1, man-to-man and 2-3 zone.
Sun Apr 17, 2005 10:00 am
man i can wait to see the result of game 3..... you know I like Denver , but please DESTROY THEM 
Sun Apr 17, 2005 10:19 am
Man- u got ur best team oncourt... and they got the best player in the series! This is gonna be real good!
Sun Apr 17, 2005 10:40 am
Sit wrote:Man- u got ur best team oncourt... and they got the best player in the series! This is gonna be real good!
What player is that?
Sun Apr 17, 2005 11:54 am
John WB wrote:Sit wrote:Man- u got ur best team oncourt... and they got the best player in the series! This is gonna be real good!
What player is that?
I think he was talking about Melo, but you never know with Sit, he might have meant Earl Boykins
Sun Apr 17, 2005 12:10 pm
Suns Dominated In Game 3
It was all about the headbands for the Suns
Suns-116
Nuggets-83
Stoudemire had his best game of the season with 24 points and 12 rebounds
DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- Tonight, the Suns looked like a completely different team. The team we saw in the past two games didn't have that much chemistry going on and they weren't as defensive minded. In tonight's game, the Suns took it to the Suns offensively and defensively. Most importantly, they didn't let the game get out of hand in the 4th quarter as they outscored the Nuggets 39-12 in the last quarter. "The coach talked and talked about the 4th quarter all day in practice yesterday, so we knew what we had to do in this game," Quentin Richardson said.
Carmelo Anthony looked more like the Anthony the Suns seen during the season. He was held to 15 points and only scored two points in the 4th quarter. "We just played man-to-man against him and once he made his move, we doubled him and forced him to pass the ball," Joe Johnson said. "Once we got the ball out of his hand, we were able to deflect the pass, force a turnover or the other person would miss the shot." Carmelo didn't score his only points of the quarter until the 5:22 mark.
Joe Johnson played like he was playing during the season as a starter, scoring 18 points on 6 rebounds and 3 assists. He was able to start the 4th quarter run made by the Suns to gain a huge advantage over Denver. He made a 3 from the right wing to put the Suns up 91-76 with 8:38 remaining in the game which opened up a 14-5 run. Johnson then was able to find Richardson ahead of the entire team with 6:05 left in the game and he flew through the air like a bird for the one hand dunk to give the Suns their largest lead of the game at 97-79. Phoenix never looked back afterwards as they went on to outscore Denver 19-4 the rest of the quarter. "We just had to get this first win out the way, and now we are taking this series in six games," Stoudemire said. "That is my GUARENTEE!" Amare Stoudemire finally came out of his slump in Game 3, as he dominated the 4th quarter scoring 12 of his 24 points in the quarter. "I'm glad that Stoudemire finally was able to come out in this game because we wasn't going to be able to win this series with him playing the way he was playing," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said.
The Suns led through each quarter except for the 2nd quarter when both teams had 24 points. Coach D'Antoni rode his starters for most of the game until late in the 4th quarter. "It was something that I had to do because we couldn't afford to miss out on this game and end up being down 3-0," D'Antoni said. The Suns bench was outscored by the Nuggets bench 15-12 in the game. Phoenix had something else going on in this game other than their great play. All 12 players on the Suns rosters wore orange headbands for tonight's game to show team unity and that they were going to win the game. "It was something Q thought of and it was a good idea," Nash said. "I looked a little funny with mine, but we did get the win."
Nene- 7pts, 4rebs
E. Najera- 2rebs
C. Anthony- 15pts, 11rebs, 5asts
V. Lenard- 10pts, 2rebs
E. Boykins- 3pts, 14mins
A. Miller- 17pts, 5asts, 2stls
M. Camby- 8pts, 12rebs, 2blks
D. Johnson- 2pts
B. Russell- 3pts
K. Martin- 18pts, 13rebs, 2blks, 3stls
S. Hunter- 4pts, 4rebs, 8mins
A. Stoudemire- 24pts, 12rebs, 3blks, 46mins
W. McCarty- 1 foul
J. Jackson- 5pts
L. Barbosa- 2pts, 1stl
J. Voskuhl- 3rebs, 1stl
J. Johnson- 18pts, 6rebs, 3asts
S. Nash- 19pts, 2rebs, 7asts
Q. Richardson- 20pts, 7rebs, 7asts
B. Outlaw- 5pts, 2rebs, 1stl
S. Marion- 19pts, 14rebs, 6asts, 3stls
Game Photos
Marion going up to crush Boykins layup
Richardson flying through the air for the dunk
Stoudemire going up strong against 3 Denver players
Camby fouling Nash as he goes up for the layup
Carmelo passing the ball inside to Martin in the post
Johnson with K-Mart in a mismatch
Marion has been the most consistent for the Suns in this series
It was all about the headbands for the Suns
Suns-116
Nuggets-83
Stoudemire had his best game of the season with 24 points and 12 rebounds
DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- Tonight, the Suns looked like a completely different team. The team we saw in the past two games didn't have that much chemistry going on and they weren't as defensive minded. In tonight's game, the Suns took it to the Suns offensively and defensively. Most importantly, they didn't let the game get out of hand in the 4th quarter as they outscored the Nuggets 39-12 in the last quarter. "The coach talked and talked about the 4th quarter all day in practice yesterday, so we knew what we had to do in this game," Quentin Richardson said.
Carmelo Anthony looked more like the Anthony the Suns seen during the season. He was held to 15 points and only scored two points in the 4th quarter. "We just played man-to-man against him and once he made his move, we doubled him and forced him to pass the ball," Joe Johnson said. "Once we got the ball out of his hand, we were able to deflect the pass, force a turnover or the other person would miss the shot." Carmelo didn't score his only points of the quarter until the 5:22 mark.
Joe Johnson played like he was playing during the season as a starter, scoring 18 points on 6 rebounds and 3 assists. He was able to start the 4th quarter run made by the Suns to gain a huge advantage over Denver. He made a 3 from the right wing to put the Suns up 91-76 with 8:38 remaining in the game which opened up a 14-5 run. Johnson then was able to find Richardson ahead of the entire team with 6:05 left in the game and he flew through the air like a bird for the one hand dunk to give the Suns their largest lead of the game at 97-79. Phoenix never looked back afterwards as they went on to outscore Denver 19-4 the rest of the quarter. "We just had to get this first win out the way, and now we are taking this series in six games," Stoudemire said. "That is my GUARENTEE!" Amare Stoudemire finally came out of his slump in Game 3, as he dominated the 4th quarter scoring 12 of his 24 points in the quarter. "I'm glad that Stoudemire finally was able to come out in this game because we wasn't going to be able to win this series with him playing the way he was playing," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said.
The Suns led through each quarter except for the 2nd quarter when both teams had 24 points. Coach D'Antoni rode his starters for most of the game until late in the 4th quarter. "It was something that I had to do because we couldn't afford to miss out on this game and end up being down 3-0," D'Antoni said. The Suns bench was outscored by the Nuggets bench 15-12 in the game. Phoenix had something else going on in this game other than their great play. All 12 players on the Suns rosters wore orange headbands for tonight's game to show team unity and that they were going to win the game. "It was something Q thought of and it was a good idea," Nash said. "I looked a little funny with mine, but we did get the win."
Nene- 7pts, 4rebs
E. Najera- 2rebs
C. Anthony- 15pts, 11rebs, 5asts
V. Lenard- 10pts, 2rebs
E. Boykins- 3pts, 14mins
A. Miller- 17pts, 5asts, 2stls
M. Camby- 8pts, 12rebs, 2blks
D. Johnson- 2pts
B. Russell- 3pts
K. Martin- 18pts, 13rebs, 2blks, 3stls
S. Hunter- 4pts, 4rebs, 8mins
A. Stoudemire- 24pts, 12rebs, 3blks, 46mins
W. McCarty- 1 foul
J. Jackson- 5pts
L. Barbosa- 2pts, 1stl
J. Voskuhl- 3rebs, 1stl
J. Johnson- 18pts, 6rebs, 3asts
S. Nash- 19pts, 2rebs, 7asts
Q. Richardson- 20pts, 7rebs, 7asts
B. Outlaw- 5pts, 2rebs, 1stl
S. Marion- 19pts, 14rebs, 6asts, 3stls
Game Photos
Marion going up to crush Boykins layup
Richardson flying through the air for the dunk
Stoudemire going up strong against 3 Denver players
Camby fouling Nash as he goes up for the layup
Carmelo passing the ball inside to Martin in the post
Johnson with K-Mart in a mismatch
Marion has been the most consistent for the Suns in this series
Sun Apr 17, 2005 12:46 pm
Marion was a beast! Congrats on the win...
and I was referring to Melo... he seemed dominant in games 1 and 2!
and I was referring to Melo... he seemed dominant in games 1 and 2!
Sun Apr 17, 2005 1:04 pm
Nice job. I forgot to ask earlier, did u get a new pc or gfx card? Or did u just decide to turn lighting on?
Sun Apr 17, 2005 1:30 pm
Yup as Sit said, great game from Matrix... man please don't lose, I want to see Phoenix (at least) in West Finals. 
Sun Apr 17, 2005 2:59 pm
Marion was a beast! Congrats on the win...
and I was referring to Melo... he seemed dominant in games 1 and 2!
yea, he's been our best player throughout the entire series
Nice job. I forgot to ask earlier, did u get a new pc or gfx card? Or did u just decide to turn lighting on?
naw its just a new setting.dat file that i recieved from seraph
Yup as Sit said, great game from Matrix... man please don't lose, I want to see Phoenix (at least) in West Finals.
lol, im tryin my best. i dont want to lose in the 1st round as much as anybody else
Sun Apr 17, 2005 3:02 pm
Other Playoff Games
(4) Sacramento vs. (5) Memphis 72-95 Grizzlies
Kings lead series 2-1
(3)Minnesota vs. (6) Dallas 104-85 Timberwolves
Timberwolves lead series 2-1
(2) San Antonio vs. (7) Houston 92-109 Rockets
Rockets lead series 3-0
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(1) Indiana vs. (8) Orlando 91-89 Pacers
Magic lead series 2-1
(4) New Jersey vs. (5) Detroit 85-101 Pistons
Pistons lead series 2-1
(3) Miami vs. (6) Washington 104-101 OT
Heat lead series 3-0
(2) Boston vs. (7) Cleveland 94-75 Celtics
Celtics lead series 2-1
(4) Sacramento vs. (5) Memphis 72-95 Grizzlies
Kings lead series 2-1
(3)Minnesota vs. (6) Dallas 104-85 Timberwolves
Timberwolves lead series 2-1
(2) San Antonio vs. (7) Houston 92-109 Rockets
Rockets lead series 3-0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Indiana vs. (8) Orlando 91-89 Pacers
Magic lead series 2-1
(4) New Jersey vs. (5) Detroit 85-101 Pistons
Pistons lead series 2-1
(3) Miami vs. (6) Washington 104-101 OT
Heat lead series 3-0
(2) Boston vs. (7) Cleveland 94-75 Celtics
Celtics lead series 2-1
Sun Apr 17, 2005 3:07 pm
Rockets sweep???
Sun Apr 17, 2005 3:08 pm
Awards
Most Valuable Player
Defensive Player of the Year
Most Improved Player
Rookie of the Year
Sixth Man of the Year
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I hate the fact that the Sixers won 3 awards. The only one I think they deserved was the sixth man. As for the ROY, I thought it should've been Okafor since he did win the most rookie of the month awards and Webber shouldn't never got most improved because those aren't his best numbers for his career.
Sun Apr 17, 2005 3:11 pm
Bron won MVP... dude.. hes young!
Sun Apr 17, 2005 3:41 pm
nice turnaround of the series
question: is bron the youngest to win it?
question: is bron the youngest to win it?
Sun Apr 17, 2005 10:07 pm
I think he may be!
Mon Apr 18, 2005 1:19 am
Bron won MVP... dude.. hes young!
yea, he was avearging around 8 rpg and 6 apg along with the 23ppg so i guess you can say he deserved it
nice turnaround of the series
thanks, i think its the fact that i played my starters most of the time
question: is bron the youngest to win it?
I think he may be!
yep he is
Mon Apr 18, 2005 2:01 am
Thank God you finally won one. You have to win game 4. Can't go down 3-1.
Mon Apr 18, 2005 2:27 am
Nice to see u winning again...
if u'd go down 1-3 it would be really hard to win the series, so u'll better get a big W
John WB wrote:You have to win game 4. Can't go down 3-1.
if u'd go down 1-3 it would be really hard to win the series, so u'll better get a big W
Mon Apr 18, 2005 2:47 am
Yeah good luck mafia
Mon Apr 18, 2005 3:52 am
SbHzMaFiA wrote:
I hate the fact that the Sixers won 3 awards. The only one I think they deserved was the sixth man. As for the ROY, I thought it should've been Okafor since he did win the most rookie of the month awards and Webber shouldn't never got most improved because those aren't his best numbers for his career.
I agree with you specially because the 76ers SUCK in your dynasty.
as for the most improved, the game only take the stats from the last season....
Last edited by Seraph on Mon Apr 18, 2005 10:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
Mon Apr 18, 2005 4:26 am
He had almost the same stats last season, about 18 and 8. Plus on that screen it shows his shooting percentages.Seraph wrote:as for the most improved, the game only take the stats from the last season....
Mon Apr 18, 2005 4:55 am
Very nice and interesting dynasty! It's a pleasure to read your recaps,keep it up!